A Dream of Equality

A Dream of Equality
On January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. King was born in a nice community that had a low amount of crime with many of his neighbors being very religious. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s father was a well respected clergyman in the community. His father did his best to protect his family from the harsh realities of racism and segregation and was the person most responsible for King becoming a man of faith. Throughout his early childhood, King and his brother Alfred Martin were subject to strict corporal punishment from their father. But all his life King still had nothing but love and respect for his father. When he was twelve years old, King began doubting his faith. When he left to Morehouse College he thought about entering the fields of medicine or law. After graduating from Morehouse with a degree in sociology, King attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor’s degree in divinity.
One of the first stands against discrimination that King was a part of dealt with public transportation. In Montgomery, Alabama, the first ten seats in a public bus were reserved for whites only and the last ten seats were reserved for blacks. But if there were empty white seats towards the front of the bus and the rest of the seats were full, blacks were forced to stand. After years of being mistreated by racist bus drivers, the African American community had had enough and decided to boycott the bus system in Montgomery. On December 5, 1955, a group of black ministers asked Martin Luther King Jr. to be the spokesman for the protest. King accepted the job and inspired the black community to boycott the bus system. In his speeches, King emphasized basic Christian values and American democracy. He maintained a balance of militancy and moderation. King inspired people to be angry about what was going on and at the same time inspired them to maintain their composure and be responsible. The goal of the bus boycott in Montgomery was to get the city to hire black bus drivers. Blacks all over Montgomery stopped using the public buses. In order to help the people that were boycotting to get to work, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) organized a car pool. However, soon after the car pool started police began stopping the drivers, questioning, and arresting them.